Chasing things that go bump in the night

Saturday

Oct 31, 2009 at 12:01 AMNov 6, 2009 at 4:02 PM

By Lashonda Stinson CurryStaff writer

Don't call them “Ghostbusters.”The Hogtown Ghost Trackers aren't interested in trapping or getting rid of evil spirits. The focus of the Gainesville group is purely scientific: investigate paranormal activity in north Central Florida and prove whether it exists.Steve Cox said what they do is not what Hollywood shows.“We are not devil-worshippers,” he said. “We do not do satanic rituals. We don't sacrifice animals or offer up human blood to conjure up the dead. There's no spinning heads or floating beds.“We use electronic instruments to capture paranormal activity, that's basically what we do. ... We just investigate claims that people have of noises, sightings and feelings.”The group includes Cox, Stewart Collins, Janelle Profant, Michelle Masters, Jeannine Walker and Lori Wanzo. Nearly three years ago, they were taking a ghost-hunting class together at Santa Fe College. When the teacher had to leave for an investigation, they kept in touch and eventually decided to get together to continue searching for answers.The team has conducted investigations in private homes, Gainesville's Evergreen Cemetery, Oakridge Cemetery in Micanopy and Newnansville Cemetery in Alachua County, one of the oldest in the state. They also did a group investigation at the Seven Sisters Inn in Ocala, which has a national reputation for being haunted. They don't charge to investigate a site.The crew has bags full of gadgets and equipment that they use on their jobs. Some are simple, such as flashlights, night-vision goggles, handheld video cameras and digital voice recorders.“We use the recorders to pick up electronic voice phenomenon, or EVPs,” Collins explained. “If we're asking questions of whatever may be there and it answers back, we might not be able to hear it, but you'll hear a voice when you play this back. We use digital instead of tape because tapes always leave residuals.”The other tools are a bit more complex. They have several different versions of a K2 meter, which measures the electronic magnetic field in the area.“There's a theory that, when paranormal activity is trying to manifest, it gives off an electrical current, and that meter measures the electrical current that's in the air,” Collins said.Other important tools include infrared thermometers with ambient temperature probe. These are used to locate “cold spots” in the room or unexplained temperature changes.They also set up a closed-circuit TV system in the locations they are investigating. From a huge computer monitor, a team member observes all the video footage from the multiple surveillance cameras, which usually is shot in night-vision because the sites usually are not lighted.Two weeks ago, the group went to the former Gilchrist County Jail, which now is abandoned and overgrown. Profant said the owners had seen some odd things inside the building. For example, broken things on the floor that weren't there before.“The place is locked by solid steel doors, and the windows all have a mesh screen on them with metal bars, so there's no way to get into the place,” she said. “But when she would open it up just to check it out, she would notice some broken stuff that wasn't there before.”Cox said there's a story that an inmate hanged himself on an electrical wire from the ceiling. During their visit, Masters and Wanzo said they saw shadows and Profant got a “K2 hit.” She said the lights on her meter went all the way over to the red section, which is the highest point on the device.Wanzo said that, on their investigation at Evergreen Cemetery, she felt something touch her arm, and she caught an EVP of a male voice. But so far, the group said, they haven't found anything concrete in any of its investigations. Cox said he has a strong feeling the evidence taken from the old jail will produce something.“Everything we think we catch, we see or think we hear, we try to debunk it,” Cox said. “The one thing you can't debunk is evidence, and so it's kind of the rule for all paranormal investigators, is that if there's any doubt, then you go to all extremes to either prove it or disprove it.”There's a high interest in ghosts and paranormal activity right now as reality TV shows about the subject are all over cable and the scary movie “Paranormal Activity” is racking up millions at the box office. The group said some of their favorites are the Travel Channel's “Ghost Adventures” and “Ghost Hunters” on Syfy.And during Halloween, everyone is thinking about ghosts and spirits.“I don't think Halloween produces anything more,” Profant said. “I think the opportunity of Halloween coming around just opens people's minds to the fact that there might be something out there.”“The actual spirits are here all the time,” Cox added. “They've always been here.”Contact Lashonda Stinson Curry at 374-5038 or lashonda.stinson@gvillesun.com.

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